Tiemoue Bakayoko’s agent said the midfielder is open to the prospect of extending his loan period at Napoli from Chelsea.
Tiemoue is happy in London
The Frenchman joined Chelsea from Monaco in 2017, but has cut little ice in west London and has spent the past three seasons visiting the club. He is currently in Napoli, following periods in Milan and Monaco, and is open to the prospect of staying in Naples. Bakayoko had two spells under current boss Napoli Gennaro Gattuso after playing for him in Milan. Gattuso’s future in Napoli is shrouded in doubt, but the player’s agent says his client’s future has nothing to do with Gattuso’s.
His future is not tied to that of the coach, said Abdoulaye Bakayoko, who is the midfielder’s brother and agent. He said that there is a strong connection with the coach, but when negotiations take place with the club to stay in Napoli, they will look and that the focus now is to see the season in the best possible way. According to him, no negotiations with the club are planned to discuss it. “Whether he stays in Napoli or not, it will not depend on Gattuso. He’s happy here, it’s a big club with a long history.”
What will happen next
Gattuso is a fan of the 26-year-old, having worked with him in Milan, now Napoli. The Partenopei didn’t expect a season from them, sitting in fifth and struggling to secure a spot in the top four, and Gattuso’s relationship with club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is reportedly strained. If Gattuso leaves, it could cause problems for Bakayoko, and this probably suggests that his brother and agent said that there were no negotiations and none in the process.
Bakayoko still has 18 months left for the five-year contract he signed with Chelsea in 2017.He had little chance of impressing Stamford Bridge, but the club is now under a new manager in uniform Thomas Tuchel and there is an outside chance the German could bring the midfielder back into the fold during the preseason. The most likely scenario Bakayoko leaves Chelsea again next season, with the Blues recruiting insisting on a permanent original given that he will be in the last year of his contract.